At this point in the cultural, social, technological and economic transformation that we are experiencing globally, it should be no mystery to anyone to know that education needs to adapt like never before in its history. This adaptation does not only consist of the incorporation of new curricular content or teaching-learning technologies, but essentially a change of focus, to encourage students to develop skills that really impact the environment in which they must develop.
Added to the skills of teamwork, strategic vision and adaptation to change, which have been declared wishes for years (but not always in applied reality), are learning to learn and learning to be, within the key axes of a education that promotes self-knowledge, human integrity and a task that goes beyond what is productive and efficient, but rather incorporates the axes of comprehensive well-being as part of what is required.
No one wants (or shouldn’t look for) people who kill and die for work anymore, but rather people who love their work and take care of themselves sustainably. This is also the case with leadership, leaving behind those charismatic leaders and advancing to facilitators of collective learning.
There are several transformations that invite us to look again at our own skills and those that must be developed by an educational and social system that aims to achieve a more sustainable and happy world, in a context of wide and endless change and uncertainty.
Learning to constantly change is becoming, in a certain way, an expert learner, someone who is constantly incorporating new knowledge, and who manages to go further by translating that learning into behaviors and habits that transform their lives and their environment.
We already know, profusely, that knowledge does not change our way of being and doing, but rather provides us with new content that lodges in the dimension of cognition. However, by not applying this knowledge and bringing it into our lives on a daily basis, it becomes inert and loses its potential to produce change in people. That is why the new skills must be in the applied world, from emotional intelligence used in the daily service of our personal management, through leadership, communication and the management of uncertainty, which beyond concepts have their everyday applications.
Reviewing our own skills and inviting us to improve in each of the opportunity gaps we can find is a necessary exercise. We at HPI International are helping companies and universities to be able to know their levels of competence and prepare themselves with the skills that are required today and that will be vital for the future of people, teams and organizations.